Apr 24, 2014

21 Reasons You Should Go to My Storytelling Night for Parents (if You're in Amsterdam)

One of the side effects of insomnia is getting crazy ideas at 2 AM, and then in the light of day, you're so sleep deprived that you actually think, hey I'm going to go ahead an follow through with that crazy idea.

And then you tell this idea to another sleep deprived friend and while her eyes say I should have a good nap before giving any advice, her mouth says yes! Let's do this thing!
And that's the birth story of a little event I'm hosting, along with my friend Catina, aka The Amsterdam Mama. We're proudly presenting The Witching Hour: a storytelling night for parents, and you're all invited.

Yes, even you, blog readers who I've never met. Please, actually.

The format is simple: food, drinks, cozy venue, live music, a bunch of people who are willing to read or tell a true story about parenting, a bunch of other people who will cheer and be supportive, and absolutely no whining allowed.

Need some cajoling? Coaxing? Ego stroking?
Well, you should definitely come and tell a story, or just to listen, if:

You're a parent and you just need to get out for a few hours.

You're a writer and you just have all these words that you need to share with other people.

You're a parent and a writer, and you just have all these words that you need to share with other people-- preferably with adult people who understand big words.

You're the type of person who likes to support local writers, bloggers, quirky people, and parents who may or may not be using this event as a form of therapy.

You have a good story, and it's selfish to keep it all to yourself.

You've thought about trying stand-up, or an open mic night, or just talking to people who will actually listen to you.

You like talking about yourself.

You've listened to every episode of The Moth and now what are you going to do?

You're a good listener. (It's true, you are.)

You need to work on being a better listener. (And that's OK.)

Because commiseration.

You're all about helping people fulfill their dreams.

You're generally pro-enjoyment, and anti-boredom.

You believe stories are powerful ways to connect people.

You enjoy hanging out in lovely independent bookshops.

You like food. And drinks. And folksy guitar music.

You remember that time you sat around with friends, swapping stories about parenting, and you laughed and cried and loved it because thank god you're not alone.

You appreciate a good free event, though you're not opposed to chipping in a bit for some drinks and snacks.

You're amazing and pretty incredible and you've learned that being cool isn't about the thickness of your mustache or the irony of your oversized eyeglasses, but about the degree to which you can go out in public with snot on your shirt and not care.

You've memorized every word of every song from Frozen, and for the love, you need to fill your mind with something else.